Can’t Wait for This, a Big Fan & Workout of the Week!

If you can today, please eat a lemon bar, carrot cake or some See’s candy in honor of my mom and her birthday today! This woman is the best of the best and I am so grateful for her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Turns out Skye is a big fan of vacations.

We hung out with my brother and his family for a little bit before making our way to Surprise, Arizona for the next Angels game. We made sure to stop for food on the way there. I am really on a breakfast kick so we stopped at a Egg N’ Joe for the good stuff. Blueberry pancakes for me and crepes for Andrew. I’m ready to get back to some vegetables again today at home… and probably more pancakes too because that love isn’t going anywhere.

And then we made it to the stadium. We got there a bit early so I fed Skye in the car before we went in and then we watched the players come out. Mike Trout (Andrew’s absolute favorite) smiled and nodded at Andrew so that made his day and…

I told one of the coaches that this was Skye’s first Spring Training so they grabbed a ball to give to her.

The Angels won yesterday which was really good because I was hoping they would while we were there.

Another highlight of the game for me was this fruit kebob. I want to recreate this with the kids at home.

Oh and we were also in the shade for 98% of the game which made it so much easier with a baby.

Before leaving for the game my sister-in-law told me that she was going to make lasagna for us for dinner. I think she is still trying to repay me for setting her up with my brother on a blind date 9 years ago. After dinner last night, we are officially even.

The Truman Show for our Friday night feature film.

And now let’s just hope that our flight today goes as well as it did on Friday!

I am beyond excited to see this little face today! Also, Andrew got some AirPods too for his bday (mainly because I am so incredibly obsessed with them that I had to have Andrew experience how great they are for running) and he loves them so much too. Last week while I was on a run I said to myself, ‘dang it… I forgot my headphones.’ But I didn’t, they were in my ears already but I just couldn’t even feel them… it was early in the morning so I’m going to blame that and the fact that these headphones are so great on why I thought I forgot them.

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I’ve got another workout for you to try out!

I LOVE the tempo run. It’s my favorite workout because I love the comfortably hard effort for a long period of time. For me and the tempo the first half is always more mentally hard and the second half is more physically hard. For the first part I am just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be pushing it for x amount of miles and then at the half way point my brain is convinced I can keep going since I am already 50% done but then my body starts getting tired ha. My tempo runs are such a big help for race day and doing a wave tempo can make this workout even more exciting. You can find your marathon race pace and half marathon race pace HERE if you want to try this workout. I’ve also done this workout alternating between marathon and half marathon race pace every half mile. Let me know if you try it!

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How many states have you been to? How many different states have you run races in?

-I’ve been to about 28 of the states and I’ve raced in 7 different states! PS when I was 4 or 5 my family took a one month long vacation and we drove all over the country visiting different states. I really want to do that with our kids too.

What was the last thing that you bought that you really didn’t need to buy?

Favorite sports games to spectate?

-I don’t love watching baseball on tv but I love the atmosphere of the games and being there.

47 comments

Loribeth

Not counting airports (because that is just the airport, not visiting the state) I have been to around 20 states, and I have raced in only 2……….however I did get to race on Castaway Cay in the Bahamas with Disney!

I like baseball games, and me and my husband try to go each year to one.
This past weekend we had some really good baked potatoes we made at home……….my first attempt to cook them in the oven and they were delicious! And the last unnecessary things I bought were a tshirt that says “90’s country” (that’s a good description of me!) and the limited edition Brooks Launch with shamrocks all over them!

A race at Castaway Cay?!?! That is so awesome.. I want to do that! I am so glad that the potatoes turned out so well! You definitely needed that shirt and those shoes. Thanks Loribeth. Enjoy your Monday!

AmandaM

My goal is to visit all of the states. What is your criteria for considering it a “visit” to the state? I feel like it has to be a meal or coffee or a visit to the downtown in a place other than the airport of that state.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your sweet mom!! I love hearing your stories about her and the encouraging words she offers. She reminds me a lot of my mom :)

Looks like such a fun trip! I LOVE watching pretty much any sport, and baseball games are definitely SO much fun to attend! I also love going to basketball and football games. There’s something about a baseball crowd, though, that makes it a blast!

I recently bought a penguin onesie on Amazon. I can’t explain everything I do. Yes, I’m an adult.

Jen W.

The best thing I ate this weekend, believe it or not, was not a sweet or dessert! ha ha

It was a salad that I made for dinner yesterday—you bake shrimp and asparagus pieces that were tossed in balsamic dressing. Then you put that on top of greens and add mozzarella chunks or goat cheese on top. It was AMAZING! And healthy! We had it with crusty brown rolls–so good!

I’ve been to a ton of different states!! We’ve lived all over the US thanks to my dad’s military service. But I’ve only raced in like 3 or 4.
Best thing I ate this weekend was homemade French Dip Sandwiches! With the dipping sauce :)
Sorry, but I am not a fan of baseball at all! I love to watch soccer games though!
Happy Birthday to your mom!

Stephanie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your mom! Today is also my mom’s birthday! They’re “birthday twins!”
I have been to 27 states, and I have run races in 4 states: Missouri (where I lived when I fell in love with running), Florida (my absolute best half-marathon time as well as the half-marathon, a year later, where I injured my right hip), Maine (I ran the Maine Marathon and it’s an amazing race! It’s gorgeous, the weather is amazing, and the community support along the way is top notch!!!), and Georgia (where I have been living the last few years…).
The best thing I ate this weekend is the burger that I DEVOURED last night. Somehow, I was starving all of yesterday. I had a great salad at lunch and some other snacks, and I ate decently after my 5K in the morning, but somehow I was just so hungry. I’m not known to eat my food more quickly than my husband, but he still had about 1/3 of his burger to eat and I was finished with mine! I even got my burger with the bun (usually I get it on top of cheese). It was so good–burger, bacon, white cheddar, “FB sauce” (which is similar to the sauce used on a big mac at mcdonalds), caramelized onions, and sauteed mushrooms. Ahh, somehow that burger just made me happy!!!

Tell your mom happy birthday for me! I love that they are birthday twins… there must be something special about March 19th. Okay, the Maine Marathon sounds awesome. I’ll have to do it one year. THAT BURGER SOUNDS AMAZING… I hope you get another one soon. Way to go on your 5k this weekend Stephanie. I hope you have a great week!

Erica

I unnecessarily bought a cashmere sweater this weekend. Thought it was just a sweater. Chris was shopping with me, and he was “yes, buy that!!” upon showing him. We go up to the counter and the guy says my total and I think Chris choked a little…….. and then says “just get it.”

Best thing I ate this weekend was a cherry scone. Not a huge scone fan, but it was homemade so whatever. Something about it hit the spot, and now I might be a scone fan.

We will join you on a trip to Alaska:) Andrew says that is his favorite place in the world and he has seen a lot of places. Oh I am so happy that you got the sweater, I’m sure it looks gorgeous on you! Okay, well now you have me craving a scone, sounds delicious Erica. Enjoy your day!

I wish swimming was a bigger sport. My sister has been a swimmer for as long as I’ve been a runner (a long time) and I used to watch her swim all the time. I really like watching it now and wish it was a thing for adults besides the olympics. I don’t mind basketball if it’s in person. Football is my favorite on tv.

SnowEcho

skye is sooooo super cute! i don’t blame you for getting her the outfit for the game. why not?
your food looks so amazing!!

thanks for the tempo workout! i’ll try to do it at some point…yes i like daniels’ VDOT chart, it’s super helpful to figure out workouts. tempo is so hard for me. i think i don’t do it well. i can do track workouts b/c i trained with a group, but maybe i just need to run with a group to get the idea.

last thing i bought that i didn’t need was this pouch to hold food that sits on the belt of your pant? it’s magnetic and that’s how it stays attached. but it felt sooo weird while running. so i just instead used a top layer that has pockets in the back (it’s probably a cycling top). however i bought it when i bought a fleece headband with ear coverings and i totally needed and used that.

best thing we ate was post-race shake shack. pre-race was the usual, Asian noodles (alternate between this and a pasta dish for pre-race) but it wasn’t nearly as good.

i am also not picky about sports viewing as long as it is live and in person, i am not a fan of watching it on the TV.

I’ve been to 48 states – but am literally heading to Kansas this weekend to make it 49 states. My LAST STATE is North Dakota – and it has become kind of a big deal in our family, so we’re planning a family vacation to North Dakota next year. Our rule is you have to at least eat a meal in the state. So Arkansas could probably use another go-round. I’ve had (THE BEST) donuts there twice, but that’s it.

I think I’ve raced in 5 states + DC?

The best thing I ate this weekend was probably some Buffalo Chickpea dip, a spin on buffalo chicken dip that I made for a St. Patrick’s Day part I went to. IT WAS SO GOOD. And no one guessed it was chickpeas.

Lys

*Love* Skye’s baseball outfit!! I think that counts as a pretty necessary purchase for a baseball-lover’s baby ;) I don’t even want to think about what I’ve bought lately which I didn’t need. A lightweight running jacket for one thing, because it was in a running event in a local supermarket and they don’t last long. It’s a nice colour but I sort of already have a running jacket ;) And, on your previous post – doesn’t your niece look like Brooke! Actually I think she looks part Brooke and part you which is sort of confusing (surely Brooke should be the one to look more like you?!)

I’m not American so my list of states is pretty small: New York, California, Hawaii, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts – hmm, that’s not so bad actually is it! I’ve run in New York, Maine and New Hampshire, but only little training runs while on holiday.

Best thing I ate – noodles with my boy, I think – a special treat for him as we were having a mummy-son weekend. But the smoked trout, soft eggs, potatoes and green beans that my OH made when he got back was pretty good too :)

I have (mostly unintentionally) visited 22 states and now that I know that I feel like I need to make it to all 50. I’ve raced in 6 states, and that’ll be more after next year:)
I don’t need 99% of the things I buy. Half the target dollar spot jumped into my cart last week and I don’t even know how that happened.
I’m Irish so my family did a corned beef dinner this weekend to celebrate St. Patricks Day. My sister in law did a cinnamon rub on the corned beef and it was SO DELICIOUS.
Happy Monday!!

Wendy

LOVE Skye’s baseball outfit, so cute! And, it looks like you have had a great weekend!
I would love to see more states! I have not been anywhere on the east coast, except Florida, so I would really like to go out there (I’m thinking in the fall would be really beautiful and perfect!). Growing up in Colorado and now living in California, I have seen most of the mountain states. I really enjoy getting to know people from each state. It reminds me how kind people truly are and can be :)
A very Happy Birthday to your wonderful mom!!

Kayse

I’ve been to 25 states and 22 countries, I love to travel! My husband and I are both off work in the summer so we have lots of plans for long road trips. This summer we are taking three weeks to drive around Florida with our 1 year old. We also have a fun plan to take our kids when they get older on a tour of California ball parks and then another trip around some of the National parks in the lower 48 (we live in Alaska).

Baseball is my favorite thing of all times, I love listening to the games on the radio. While we are in Florida this summer we are going to go to a Marlins and a Rays game on our road trip.

I am so envious of your Spring Training trip, I would love to go down to Arizona in the Spring to catch some games!

Let’s all meet up next spring for Spring Training in Arizona:) You’ll love it! Okay, TWENTY TWO COUNTRIES. That is incredible and I am so excited for you to have your Florida trip with your little one. Andrew is so jealous that you live in Alaska, that is his favorite place in the world! Have a beautiful day Kayse and thank you!

clk

Happy birthday HRG mama! You are clearly amazing and have so many words of wisdom. Janae is so lucky to have you!

I’ve visited 26 states and raced in 8 of them. I’m not one looking to log in a race in every state. You?

Any sport live is fun to watch except for baseball. It’s so long and so boring! (Don’t tell my husband who’s an avid Yankee’s fan. He got us tickets to see them play the Red sox while we are there for the Boston marathon next month.) I’m also currently pumped for this years NCAA tourney. My alma mater, University of Nevada, Reno, just made the Sweet 16!

Megan D

Best thing I ate last week was the fried chicken sandwich from Pretty Bird and the peanut butter ice cream from last course. I might have to go get it again this week.

Basketball is my favorite sport to watch, but I agree, I can watch any sport if I am THERE watching it. It makes a huge difference. So does shade! When we went to the Yankees Red Sox game in July and it was a game in the middle of the day. We were in the upper bowl in the direct sun. I thought I would be fine because I had just left St George, but that humidity killed me. We ended up wanting to go to another game the next day and we all agreed it was worth the extra cost to sit in the lower bowl where it was nice and shaded.

Happy Birthday Mom !!! Hope you had a great day. | OMG, Skye’s baseball outfit is just as cute as I thought it would be on her!!!! | Ok, let’s talk fruit kabobs. Those seriously look like the most amazing thing I’ve eaten in a very long time !!!

Katie W.

I love the Surprise stadium! I used to teach kindergarten at the school across the street. At recess my kids would collect baseballs that would land in our playground. Hope you had a great trip in Arizona! Wishing you mom a very birthday! Wishing you safe and easy travels home…

Happy birthday to your mom! i hope she has a ton of fun celebrating her big day :) also, those huge pancakes look amazing. I wonder how they flip them without breaking!?? That must take some serious skill :)

I have no idea how many states I’ve been to, but it’s a lot. I’ve lived in Virginia, Utah, and Colorado. I’ve raced in VA, CA, NC, MD, IL, PA, MA, and DC. My favorite sport is college football – we had season tickets to Virginia Tech until this year when we finally gave them up. We’ll just buy and go to a couple of games per year now.

We had friends over for dinner on Friday night and I made the most amazing filet mignon (my son’s recipe). Hmmm, the last thing I bought that I didn’t “need” to buy was a Washington Nationals scarf and toy baseball for my son’s dog. And you’re right, it’s way too easy to order things from Amazon, especially with Prime! :-)

Happy birthday, HRG Mom! :) The best thing I ate last weekend was some (ahem, 6-layered) carrot cake for my birthday (and obviously for your mom’s early birthday. I’ve been to twenty states, so I definitely have a few more on my list! I like watching every sport – I grew up watching things as slow as golf and as fast as hockey. I have to say, baseball took me the longest to come around to, but I’m into it now, if not super knowledgeable about it.

I haven’t been to TOO many states, but it is my goal to get in a mini run in every state I visit! I got to run recently in Louisiana (I’m from PA!) and the most random was a mini two miler around a campground in South Dakota (just so I can say I did it!) I love looking back through my Garmin logs to see all the cool places I’ve run. Love your blog!!! You are part of my inspiration to start my own!

Mindy

I’ve been to 45 states and I have raced in 5 states (adding 2 more this year.) I looooooooove football.

Quick question, I recently purchased a Garmin Forerunner 35 and I noticed that the Indoor Running mode didn’t match up to the treadmill. My Garmin had me running 2min/per mile faster than the treadmill :o Which is accurate the treadmill or the Garmin? I know there are a lot of factors here that could impact but I was just wondering if you ever noticed anything like that on your treadmill runs.

Thanks for the posts, love your blog :)

Christina

Happy birthday to your sweet Mom!!! And Skye is so darn cute, good grief makes me want another (but that ship has sailed;)

Best thing I ate all weekend was creme brûlée cheesecake at the Westin in Los Angeles after I ran the LA marathon! I finished in 4:23 crushing my goal of under 4:30! Such an epic race! I’m a Dodger fan and got to see Justin Turner at the start!!!

I’m with you on baseball love going to the games, not so much watching on tv unless it’s the World Series. I like watching basketball and soccer.

I’ve been to 42 states. I have run races in 5 but I’m sure that number will grow. Also Canada if we want to count another country, a few years ago we did a girls’ weekend in Montreal and ran the RnR Half.

I went to Target recently so pretty much everything I bought there was unnecessary. I think I just stopped in for a wedding card… and left spending $100.

I love watching hockey but haven’t gotten to much this season which is sad.